Board

von Essen Hotels

The 26 UK luxury country house hotel assets of von Essen Hotels (plus a Napoleonic island fort off the Welsh coast and a French chateau hotel) went into administration in April, with Christie + Co instructed by the administrators to sell the portfolio. By the end of 2011 the majority of the hotels ( like Thornbury Castle above) were under new ownership, many deals being for cash with the possibility of raising debt subsequently.

Mint Hotels

Aerodrome Hotel

The Aerodrome Hotel, which opened in 1928 as the world’s first airport hotel, was sold by Christie + Co on behalf of administrators. It was acquired by Hallmark Hotels and took the growing group’s portfolio of 4-star hotels up to six. This sale, and others, demonstrated the continuing investor appreciation for character as well as quality.

Christie + Co provided a formal loan security valuation of this portfolio, on behalf of a bank seeking to fund one of the bidders. The group comprised seven UK hotels and one in Amsterdam. Two of the UK hotels are in London and comprise approximately 1,000 bedrooms. The portfolio was eventually acquired by Blackstone Group (owners of Hilton Worldwide) for a reported £615 million.

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